Happy Place

I am almost finished after what feels like a YEAR of attempting to read Happy Place by Emily Henry. It’s not that the book isn’t good, it is amazing and I always love Emily Henry’s writing. The thing is that shortly after the book was published, I kept seeing people online say how sad they found the book. I knew how hard (in the best way) Beach Read hit me when I first read it, so I was expecting an even heavier hit from Happy Place based on how people were reacting.

Now I am about 5 chapters from the end, and while I feel emotional and forlorn over the history between Wyn and Harriet, I haven’t cried or felt the emotional hangover I tend to get after finishing a chapter in the back half of one of Emily Henry’s books. Part of me wishes I had never waited and had just read Happy Place when I first got it shortly after it was published, but I am glad I finally did read it since it’s been an enjoyable story to read this spring.

Part of me wonders, did Happy Place not resonate as intensely with me because I have never had a major romantic break up? I have had emotional endings to friendships and felt the loss of “almost” relationships, but maybe since I have never dated anyone for several years and felt the intense loss of that ending, I was not able to connect as deeply with the story in Happy Place as I thought I would.